Random thoughts on a Tuesday afternoon...

My dear Aunt Shirley is in the hospital recovering from a surgery to release extra fluid from around her heart. The surgery went well, and will hopefully help her body get back on track to resume her chemotherapy cancer treatment. She is constantly in our thoughts and prayers.

This week I am going to catch up on my emails, phone calls and paper work. I am tired of being behind, so I'm going to put my nose to the grindstone and just get it done.

Today I finished painting the kitchen and family room! I am so happy! The mere thought of this job has overwhelmed me for too long, and it is so strange to look around these rooms in which I spend the majority of my day to see the job done. The original color was very pretty, but as I lived with it, I found it too dark for my taste. I craved something lighter and brighter. Once I finally found the color I liked, taped and edged everything (in other words, got past all of the hard stuff), the actual rolling of the paint was so therapeutic. Seeing the room transform from dark to light and airy was sooo satisfying.

Of course, I still have to paint the stairwell, playroom, hallway, bathroom and master bedroom because I have sample paint splotches all over those walls. However, I believe it would be prudent of me to just tackle the bathroom and stairwell for now. Maybe the rest will have to wait until after the holidays.

Getting the house back together and organized after painting was also very satisfying. Everything looks so clean. I have a new found appreciation of that after neglecting housework and living with a paint mess in the main living area of our house for what seemed like too long. :)

Evan just cut his chin...I am always amazed at how quickly a Spiderman Band-Aid can soothe him, and how Boo-Boo Bear (a bear-shaped ice-pack) can make him feel better almost immediately upon contact. Sometimes Evan will hurt himself, run to the freezer, grab Boo-Boo Bear, briefly touch it to his injury, and put it right back in the freezer. Voila...instantly no more tears, and right back to play!

Evan's quite the negotiator...He'll ask me for a lollipop (or something else he wants). If I say no, he'll say, "Just one?" When I refuse him again, he'll actually say, "Just two?" :)

How is it that having 8 kids in the house is sometimes easier than 4? It seems counterintuitive. However, when the kids have playdates, I am usually much more productive and the house is more peaceful than when they don't. :) Dinner's in the oven, and I'm folding the laundry at the kitchen table watching Henry and his buddy, Alex, explore the nature area behind our house. (The weather is gorgeous today...wish that we could have more days of 70 degree weather. Unfortunately, that is not likely to happen considering that it is November and we live in the midwest. How many days until spring?!)

Dave installed Moxie's underground fence in the back and side yards. She's a little nervous about getting zapped, but mostly she is happy to have free reign of the yard. It's so fun to watch the kids running around with her! Having this fence installed will help so much in the wintertime as we'll be able to just let her out and watch her from the warm house.

Looking forward to a lasagna dinner, getting the kids to bed early, and curling up on the couch and watching t.v. tonight with my hubby. I wonder...what are the chances that I can convince him to watch Dancing with the Stars?